Downing's Basement

Being a child of the 80’s and growing up in the 90’s, I got a chance take in many experiences with what became the era of videogames transitioning from the arcade into the household as part of our mainstream culture.
And one of the biggest moments from that time was when the console wars began and when those wars took console gaming to 3D in the mid 90’s. The N64 was my entry into the 3D era with Mario 64 as my new obsession!
Now, nearly 30 years later I am still enjoying the N64, but in a far different manner! For years I’ve been making the N64 into portable versions of itself through blood, sweat and F-Bombs! But now, I’m happy to announce that shortly, you to will be able make one with 95% less cursing!

WHAT (IS) AND WHAT’S (IN) THE KIT?

This kit is the culmination of nearly 16 years of console modding experience. With this particular project starting as a new, from-the-ground-up portable commission over two years ago, I knew I had something different as the final pieces came together. And this of course was the spark that re-ignited a passion project of mine that has successfully evaded me for well over a decade.

For the past year now, I’ve been in the works of refining and tweaking the design of my latest N64 Portable series, “The 5thGeN64”, into a comprehensive Do-It-Yourself Kit!

And with the help of GMANMODZ and AURELIO of 4 Layer Tech, I believe that this is the most modern and user friendly N64 mod to hit the market.

The kit includes everything from custom PCBs for all the very complicated components, to a 3D printed enclosure with laminated vinyl graphics and all the screws and clips needed to put it together. With a few exceptions…

A full packing list and info about non-included items can be found down in the FAQ section.

But aside from the build experience that went into making this kit, you will be getting something else to go along with it…

THE GUIDE

The guide is going to be your bible for this project and an extreme amount of time has gone into making it as straight forward as possible.

With over 70 steps in the process, every effort to capture every little detail of the build has been made. It will bring you through A to Z with clear and explicit instruction that takes 90% of the guess work out of the whole portable making experience!

But, this guide does assume you have a basic understanding of electronics and the tools required to work with them. So I ask that if you are new to this hobby, please do your homework and practice with a simpler electronics project first!

Now unfortunately, the kit only provides the bits and pieces needed to put together the kit itself, not the tools that are required to do so. If you’re starting out fresh, you will need to invest in tooling that allows you to work with small electronics.

TOOLS & CONSUMABLES

As I had mentioned before, not “everything” you need is included and certain tools and consumables will be required to make this happen. So, to take even more guess work out of the process, I’ve added a dedicated page of all the recommended parts/tools that I use or have used a variant off. Please check out the T&C page as well as the details about each item.

THE KICKSTARTER & EARLY ADOPTERS

So you may be asking, how do I get my hands on one of these kits? There will be a few different ways coming up, but for right now, making a pledge on Kickstarter is the best way to get your hands on one and will potentially get you the best value should the campaign be successful.

Now it’s worth noting that I’m only planning on making 100 kits max. I’m a small, one-man operation and I’m really just doing this as a hobby for fun. But the main reason for this campaign is to help leverage and mitigate costs by buying components in bulk and outsourcing certain parts of the project like the 3D printed enclosures.

So what this means is that even if the campaign isn’t successful, it’s not the end of the project and kits will still be available, however they will be at a higher price point because of the additional costs of parts and the extra labor that will be involved with parts that can’t be outsourced. Which is why I really want to see this campaign succeed.

With all that said, pledging a full kit not only secures your order if the campaign is successful, but if it isn’t, your full kit pledge will count as a place saver should you wish to get one at the higher price point. Rest assured I’ll do everything I can to keep the costs as low as possible, but this always has and always will, be a very expensive hobby!

ESTIMATED TIME FRAME

This is all very much going to depend on the success or failure of the KS campaign but the good news is that all major aspects of the kit are already complete. But regardless, the goal is to start shipping kits by June 2025.

FAQ

Q. WHAT IS “NOT” INCLUDED IN THE KIT?
A. The big one is the N64 Motherboard itself is not included. There are several reasons for this, but the biggest is volume availability and not wanting to test Nintendo’s already thin patience.
Basic electronics tools and consumables like solder are also not included, but as stated above, the Tools and Consumables page will get you going with everything you need.

Q. WHAT’S THIS KIT GOING TO COST ME?
A. At the moment, I can only give a rough estimate as it’s going to depend on the success of the Kickstarter to help leverage the costs of the parts and labor that will be going into these. But, as a very broad range, if the KS fails, the kits will probably cost between $350 to $400 whereas if it succeeds, we’re looking at around $250 to $300, but again, these numbers are only educated guesstimates and subject to reality.
*UPDATE 7-9-25*
– Due to tariffs and overall price increases across the board getting the kits down to $350 if the KS succeeds was even a stretch. So for the Kickstarter, set to go live on 7-15-25, will be at the $350 for a complete kit with your choice of decal.

Q. WHEN WILL THE KICKSTARTER BE LIVE
A. I’m shooting for 2 to 3 weeks after MGC 2025 when I’ll have a better gauge of interest after the prototype kit has been played around with. Shoot me a message with the contact form below if you want to be added to the update list!

CONTACT

If you have any additional questions or comments, or wish to be placed on the update mailing list, please fill out the form below and I’ll keep you up to date!